Red cooked eggplant 红烧茄子

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It should come as no surprise that the best version of this classic dish is the one Mom always made back home when you were just a tadpole. Nonetheless, you can still turn out a decent approximation today without much fuss. Be glad show you how. 红烧茄子 -- red cooked eggplant, soy sauce braised eggplant.

 

    

 

 

Above: The finished product and the main ingredients. Long Asian eggplants 长茄子 work best because they have tender skin. No need to peel them. One or two long green peppers and a red one. I’ve used mildly spicy green peppers 青椒 and a red bell pepper 红甜椒。One large spring onion 大葱 and a clove or two of garlic. I used gentle single-clove garlic 独蒜。A thumb of fresh ginger 生姜, which has a milder flavor than old ginger 老姜。Don't fret if your garlic and ginger are not the same as mine; just use a little less of them. 

 

Start with the meat, pork 猪肉。Rinse it and slice it thin across the grain then chop it several times on the cutting board 菜板 with your kitchen knife 菜刀 to turn it into small pieces, not quite as small as if it had been ground. I use meat that is about 80% lean 瘦肉 and 20% fat 肥肉。Marinate it with a teaspoon or two of corn starch 淀粉 and a tablespoon or two of cooking wine 料酒。This is called “velveting” the meat and it helps make it tender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wash the eggplant and cut it on a bias. This is called a “rolling cut” and what you do is hold the eggplant with one hand and give it about a quarter turn with each angled slice. 切滚刀快。Couldn't photograph the actual process without risking the loss of a thumb. Put it in a big bowl and toss it with a couple tablespoons of vinegar 白醋 and a teaspoon or so of salt 食用盐。Toss it well and let it stand about 10 minutes. This removes a good deal of excess moisture without letting the eggplant become brown.

 

   

 

Mince 切碎 the garlic and thinly slice the ginger into rounds 切薄片。Wash and cut the peppers into strips 切条, removing and discarding the seeds. Slap the spring onion with the side of your knife to break it and partly flatten it; then cut it into thin slices. This allows it to cook fast and eliminates any “bite.”

 

Prepare a braising sauce by adding about 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce 生抽 and the same amount of yellow cooking wine 料酒 to a bowl. Mix in about a half a tablespoon of dark soy sauce 老抽, a half teaspoon each of salt 盐 and granulated sugar 白砂糖。Stir in a tablespoon of corn starch 玉米淀粉 and a cup of water. Here’s where to put the 味精 MSG if you use it. I like about a fourth of a teaspoon.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready now to fire up the wok. It's always good to assemble everything you will need; then look it all over critically like a general before going into battle. Once you are "over flame," the process goes real fast. You won't have time to fumble around looking for stuff. By the way, I’ve already got the rice working off to the side in the electric rice cooker. It takes about 30 minutes, and I want it to be ready when the other food comes off the stove. That way everything can hit the table hot.

 

Don’t forget the culinary school adage, 热锅冷油。Get the wok hot over high heat before swirling in a couple tablespoons of oil. This lets it coat the metal better and makes the food less likely to just soak it up. I used rapeseed oil 菜籽油 today because it adds a pleasant note to eggplant, but it’s fine to use any oil with a high smoke point, such as peanut oil or corn oil. Olive oil won’t cut it.

 

Fry the meat quickly together with the garlic and ginger. Keep it all in motion with your wok tool 锅铲 over high flame for about a minute, until the meat loses its pink color.

 

   

 

 

Add the eggplant a handful at a time, squeezing out the extra liquid as you do so. My two eggplants left behind over a half a cup of their intracellular water. Stir 煸炒 and flip 翻炒 the food steadily over high heat until you start to see the eggplant taking one a bit of golden color 变金黄色。

 

   

 

 

That’s the point at which to add the sliced peppers. They don’t require much cooking time.

 

   

 

 

After a minute or so, mix in the braising liquid, remembering to stir up the corn starch which has settled to the bottom of the bowl. The eggplant will need 4 or 5 more minutes, all the while uncovered. Keep it all moving, don’t let the sauce get too thick and scorch or stick to the wok. It’s fine to add more hot water as needed in small amounts, quarter of a cup or so at a time. I splash it in from a tea kettle.

 

Check the eggplant frequently as you stir to see if it is done. The way to do that is to try to cut a piece of it with the edge of your spatula, pressing against the side of the wok. You are “there” when it still resists slightly, but then gives way without requiring too much muscle. Last of all, blend in the sliced spring onions. As you work the dish, it will acquire a deep color plus a glossy sheen; it will give off a complex aroma.

 

   

 

 

Serve it up! What I often do when just making it for two is to start with one plate for each of each of us that has rice plus the eggplant, served 盖饭 “gaifan” style. No deep philosophic reason; it just looks nice.

 

   

 

 

 

Hope this dish is something you might feel inclined to try. It’s not tricky or treacherous to execute. Reasonably healthy and memorably delicious. If you have no way to cook where you live, it's still good to be aware of 红烧茄子 (hongshao qiezi) since it's readily available in restaurants, small and large, all over China. 

 

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Cook’s footnote 小窍门: You will need to make two decisions ahead of time. First, whether to add meat or not. It’s good either way. Generally speaking, I add meat in order for it to become a “one-dish meal.” Otherwise, I leave it out.

 

Second decision is whether or not to pre-fry the eggplant. The most common restaurant version includes that step. It gives the eggplant an improved texture but comes at the cost of quite a bit of extra trouble.

 

Also, there are many ways to cut the eggplant. It’s OK to get creative.

[anonymoose]

I've tried making this in the UK. We don't have the long aubergines (eggplants), at least not in the regular supermarkets, but it comes out fine even with the type we normally have here.

 

This is one of my favourite dishes, and I never fail to have some every time I go back to China. Another similar dish is 地三鲜, usually eaten in the northeast of China.

[Luxi]

Thanks @abcdefg it looks and sounds delicious, will taste it tomorrow. I'll have to go for the vegetarian option this time and ordinary European aubergines.

 

I can't think of any reason why the Asian type couldn't be grown here. I also like the round Italian type, they're great sliced into rounds.

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5 hours ago, anonymoose said:

This is one of my favourite dishes, and I never fail to have some every time I go back to China. Another similar dish is 地三鲜, usually eaten in the northeast of China.

 

I like that too, and will add it to the "Revisiting the Classics" list from another thread. Revisiting the Classics

 

4 hours ago, Luxi said:

 I'll have to go for the vegetarian option this time and ordinary European aubergines.

 

The larger Mediterranean eggplants also work for this. You will need to be the judge of whether or not the skin is tough and needs to be peeled. With meat or without, the dish has lots of authentic China flavor. Hope it turns out well and brings smiles to your household! Snap and post a photo if it's not too much trouble.